Jeff Lloyd has a quick look, but nothing can beat Houtzen in the Scarborough Stakes (Image: Racing Photos)
Houtzen ($1.30) did the job for the punters in the
Group 3 Simpson Construction Scarborough Stakes (1200m) on Friday night, but trainer
Toby Edmonds said a tilt at The Everest is not yet locked in.
Star Brisbane jockey Jeff Lloyd made it a running double on favourites So You Too and the Magic Millions winner Houtzen, but Edmonds wasn't getting too carried away with the latter's victory.
Pencilled in as Aquis Farm's number one option for the inaugural $10million race at Randwick on October 14, Edmonds said The Everest might not be their grand final run necessarily - keeping an eye on the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) at Flemington on Derby Day.
WATCH: Houtzen's Scarborough Stakes win
"She hasn't won by a big margin, but she's that type of filly - she's got a high cruising speed, and three weeks between runs, so she'll improve a stack off that tonight," Edmonds said post-race.
"He [Lloyd] was quite keen to be very aggressive from the barrier, and he got one-and-a-half cheap furlongs there somewhere, and she was strong enough to hold on tonight.
"The Everest has always been her grand final, so we've left a little bit in the tank.
"Three weeks between runs, she's a gross, doing filly, she needed a solid gallop Monday morning and blew very hard, so I knew she'd improve off tonight.
"We're going to sit down and think about it, I'm not going to make a decision tonight and talk to Aquis who have the slot.
"The best part about it is they're conscious the horse comes first, and if we think there's a better race for her, we might go that way.
"If we don't go down the Everest track, we'll be back in Melbourne [for the Coolmore]."
Edmonds said his main concern was the star I Am Invincible filly, who has now won five of her seven starts to bank $1,558,600 in stakes.
"If I want to run in The Everest, I'll run," the Gold Coast trainer said.
"But if I'm going to hurt her in any way against the older horses, we're not going to run.
"We're not going to make the decision tonight though, we'll talk to Aquis and probably make that decision on Monday."